Her Protector
by xHiddenM
Summary: "Starscream is here. He will protect me." Miko whispered. She was going to make the world burn tonight. And the autobots were going to let it happen unless they kill her. Right there. Right now. Starscream/Miko Warnings inside Prime verse
1. Introductions: Part One

**Taking Flight**

"**Introductions: Part One"**

By Take0v3r

**Note: **Hey guys! I have a million other stories to work on, some under editing, some needing to be updated. It's been busy here, so…you know. Check out my stories – **Uninnocent, Paper Hummingbirds, **and **Summit**, and if you're a Harry Potter fan, check out **Insults Galore** while you're at it. The rest need to be edited.

This takes place during the end(ish) of Rock Bottom. _If someone knows a place where I can find that full video send me a PM, please. The_ seasons will either continue through my adjustments or possibly end up mixing things together.

Also, there will be warnings of chapter content, and some chapters may not be in chronological order. I'll have '**Warnings:'** bolded under every author's note, and just above you'll find notes on the order of things plus you can check out the warnings.

Thanks guys!

**xXx**

**Warnings: **No warnings for this chapter.

**Disclaimer:**__Transformers belongs to Hasbro/Dreamworks. All OCs are mine.

**xXx**

"_It leaves you blinded, you know. There's, like, this feeling that totally controls you, eats away at your heart. And then…"_ Miko trailed off, hugging her knees closer to her body, shivering.

"_And then what, Miss Nakadai_?" her therapist tonelessly asked, scribbling something down in his notebook.

"_And then nothing."_ She snapped. "_You feel like nothing."_ Miko wanted to scream, shout, or at least do _something_. After only looking at the therapist she could tell this one wouldn't last long. None of them ever did.

Dr. Pete Wilson was a Caucasian middle-aged man with narrow square glasses and dark hair, streaked with white. He talked way too formally for Miko's taste, his couch was too stiff, and everything about him bothered her. It was like he brought out the worst in her. It was obvious Drifter. Wilson didn't really care. Her case was more like a gossip story, a little fairytale that the whole world was fascinated about but couldn't care enough to ask how she felt about it.

"_Miss Nakadai? Miss Nakadai_, _are you alright?_" he asked her. Miko glared at him, stood up, and yanked her phone out of her pocket. She walked out of the room, slamming the door shut and deciding to text the guys. Time check. OK, only ten minutes had been left of her session anyway. That might be a new record for her.

Unraveling her earbuds and sticking them in her ears, Miko turned around a corner and screamed.

**Previously**

**xXx**

Miko's day started off with an argument. Her host parents, Michelle and Jeremy Gould, called her 'too rebellious for her own good', and her grades were 'outrageous'.

Honestly, Miko couldn't care less. They weren't her real parents – not that she really cared about them either – and all she wanted to do was ignore the world. That was why she immersed herself in heavy metal; it was the only type of music that could block out her mind. Deep down, she knew she was rebellious, she knew she needed to work on her grades, but then the voices came back.

"_You are weak, fleshling."_ He hissed. _"And yet, you speak bravely, with power. Tell me your designation._"

"_Miko." _She whispered.

"_Miko…"_ he purred. _"I,"_ his voice rose, chest puffed out in pride, _"Am Starscream,"_

That was years ago, before she moved from Japan to Jasper, Nevada, when Miko got straight A's, played piano, and dressed prettier, with skirts. Occasionally she'd dye her hair, mainly purple. It was her favorite color. That was all when she went to private school in Tokyo.

Now, she was in the US, where she made average grades, often C's, and virtually no A's. She wore the same clothes every day, and always put her (now dyed pink) hair up. Miko liked to wonder what would've happened if she'd never met Starscream. No matter what, the thought would always scare her.

Every day after their meeting, she would return to their spot in the forest where cherry blossoms trees thrived, petals fell off and floated all around her, drifting and settling in her hair. Often, that would make most people look a little strange, but Miko's beauty was a different kind. It was more down-to-earth, and made her glow. Her amber eyes sparkled with mirth and passion.

Starscream enticed her. He could make her so angry, so frustrated. But on other days, he made her laugh until she cried, fascinated her with war stories – or just stories in general. The King of Vos told her about Cybertron, what life was like before the war. Miko wished she lived on Cybertron; they lived as one, a whole. There were no countries, no separations. They ruled under a single government. Instead of nations, they had city-states like Praxus, Kaon, and Iacon, to name just a few. They had their customs though, their little mini-cultures. He told her about how Cybertronian frames worked, how they transformed.

They grew close. Miko told him of life in her private school, how boring it was, how easy the classes were. Except for math, that always gave her trouble. Piano lessons were boring, pointless. She wanted more pieces to work on, something less classical and more intense.

But there was a time when Starscream never showed up. Every day after, she waited until nightfall for him to come to the forest, where Miko would fidget and finish off her homework and study. She never got the chance to tell him how much he meant to her. Eventually she knew he'd never come back, and spent the days after school on the forest floor, tears streaming down her face as she stared up into the sky, waiting for the rumble of his engine, for his wide wings to cast a great shadow over her tiny form.

When the foreign exchange student program was offered to her, she accepted it. Miko needed to get away from it all, from their forest. So when almost a year and a half had passed since he'd last visited, and the cherry blossoms were falling once again, she lay in the grass and settled her gaze on the deep blue sky. It was the perfect day for flying, for Starscream to come down. And still, after all this time, she hoped again, for him to come back to her.

But he didn't.

And Miko's heart was crushed. The tears fell faster with the blossoms – which covered parts of her body and settling, once again, in her hair as she lay with her back to the forest floor.

The next morning, Miko's flight for Nevada left at two in the morning. She liked to think all of her memories of Starscream literally flew out the window, clearing her mind. In a way, it did. But in reality, her mind clung to them that much stronger, making them permanent. Not a day went by without him crossing her mind. Everything she did seemed to remind her of Starscream.

Eventually, the pain lessened, and longing was replaced by anger. Why did he leave? Why couldn't he at least say goodbye? Did he hate her that much? This was where her rebellious acts began to creep into her heart, where she stopped caring about her grades, her clothes, her life in general.

Miko started to dye parts of her hair red and black, and tried to find something to her liking. After awhile, she wore dark black jeans and a black long sleeved shirt with white lining swirling around, and plain Converse.

Eventually though, she settled on an outfit that didn't make her seem so gothic and chose instead a pink T-shirt. On top of that, she wore a navy blue tank top with a little green alien just below the collar. For her pants, she wore purple and black striped leggings with denim shorts on top of that and knee-high combat boots, replacing the black shoe laces with purple ones.

On top of her bookshelf, she spotted two little stuffed animals by the hooks where she hung her belts on the wall. Miko liked them because they were the exact opposite of each other. One had narrow eyes, a frown, and was a pale turquoise color. The other was a darker shade of the same color, and had a smiley face with wide eyes. She snatched up a random belt and took the two plushies to attach to it. Her red and black hair went to pink instead, while the style went from ponytail to two short pigtails on each side, the back cascaded down, flat as a board, and tied off at the end.

This was her style, and it stayed that way.

By the time she met the autobots, it was nearly halfway through the first two semesters that year.

Miko acted like it was a big shock, but it really wasn't. It brought back so, so much pain. She hid it well, acting crazy, grinning from ear to ear so often that it made her cheeks hurt. Her friendship, however, was genuine. The teen was close to Bulkhead, in all honesty. She was close to Jack and Raf; they were her friends. In her mind, however, the autobots would always be the enemy, even Bulkhead.

It comforted her to know that Starscream had remained neutral in his explanation of the war on Cybertron. It was a sad story in her mind – how Megatron's ideas, a path so great, was changed by jealousy and unintentional betrayal when Orion became Prime; and instead of peace on Cybertron, there was only violence and destruction.

Mentions of Starscream caught her interest. Denial settled in at first. No matter what, Miko kept it all hidden. All information she'd learned from Starscream was yet to be revealed to others.

But now, Miko found herself trapped in a cave. The ceiling had collapsed, and the only thing stopping them from being crushed was Bulkhead, who was holding up the rocks that previously made up the roof. She'd been hitting his ped repeatedly, in order to create noise. It was supposed to attract attention.

And, as Starscream stared down at her and Miko stared back, an eternity seemed to pass, when in reality it had only been a couple of seconds.

That all too familiar sly smirk appeared on Starscream's face.

"Well, well, well," he purred. "What do we have here?" his optics left her face and went up to Bulkhead's.

"Miko, get behind me," Bulkhead ordered, glaring at the SIC. She slipped behind his heel, shivering and pressing her back to his heel, palms flatly pressing against his foot.

"I fail to see how that would help you, autobot," Starscream sneered, crossing his arms and cocking his hip out smugly. "You aren't exactly in any position to help,"

"If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, Starscream, forget it!" he spat out, but he nervously shifted his foot.

"Er, yes, begging for mercy would be quite pathetic, wouldn't it?" the decepticon said somewhat sarcastically, examining his finger tips. "Don't insult me. It's not as if you could protect your little human in your state anyway, now can you?"

"Touch her and I'll bring the roof down!" Bulkhead threatened. He shifted though, arms trembling – something Starscream noticed.

"It's bound to happen sometime anyway," Starscream slowly paced the room in a circle. He knelt to the ground, bringing himself closer to eye level with Miko. To her credit, she didn't shudder or move.

"Run Miko!" Bulkhead urged.

"Yes, run Miko! I would love to see you try! Really, I would!" he laughed. Then, his tone became sober, darker. "As if you haven't already…"

Her eyes widened in outrage. "_Me_?" she hissed. "_I_ didn't run away from anyone! _You_ left one day and never came back! I waited a whole year, Starscream! I couldn't wait forever!"

"Then what are you doing here?" he snarled. "And it wasn't my fault!" he added indignantly, "Lord Megatron came back; I had to leave or he would've gotten suspicious! We had no duty in Japan!"

"And you couldn't stay behind one more time, just to explain things to me? You couldn't have made up an excuse? Why couldn't you just _face_ me?" Miko yelled. Her fists were balled up at her sides, her posture rigid and head held high.

Starscream noticed her little traits. He remembered when there had been a time she had come to see him after school one day:

"_I'm so mad!" _she'd groaned, frustrated, and fell flat on her back in a pile of leaves on the soft moss-covered ground. He'd gotten there a little late that day – there had been a storm earlier. Thankfully, the rain had gone away by the time school was over.

"_Why?"_ he'd asked, amused by her antics.

Miko's head popped back up out of the pile. _"One of my friends, Umi, has a twin sister called Ursa – who hates me for being friends with her sister. I think it was because back in kindergarten…"_ she rattled on about the list of events, and Starscream felt more relaxed than he had in far too long. The eradicons had given him hell earlier, and he'd spent the day yelling and shouting orders. Listening to Miko rattle on and on kept his stress down.

"_So she shoves me, and Umi starts to shout at her," _Miko continued, "_Ursa's not that strong, so even though she really tried to knock me down, it only made me go back a couple steps. Everyone's noticing, and Umi and Ursa are arguing. Soon there's this giant crowd, I glare, Ursa says it again, and I punch her in the face. Mrs. Lee finally gets there and sees Ursa on the ground, and me standing over her. It looked bad, I think, because Ms. Lee gives me detention without letting anyone explain! Ugh! I hate her!"_

Starscream chuckled at her and affectionately rubbed the smooth part of his finger on top her head, messing with her hair. She crossed her arms, eyebrows narrowed, and pouted.

"_Sometimes,"_ he said. _"People will judge others based on what they see, and not what they hear. Those can be the worst kind of moments. Consider this, Miko,"_ She cocked her head to the side, paying complete and full attention. _"Imagine yourself in Mrs. Lee's position: her job is to teach and take care of her students. Parental units would not want to send their sparklings to a learning facility that allows violence, and she could have lost her job had circumstances gotten worse. She did what she deemed necessary at the time. Perhaps, if time permits, you may speak to her before or after your punishment. And you were a part of the fight."_

"_But I didn't start it!" _Miko cried, irritated. _"Ursa pushed me! I was just defending myself!" _she sat up straight, fists clench and back stiff. He held back a snort. For such a tiny and defenseless creature, Miko looked ready to shout back as if she held some sort of power of him.

"_Doesn't matter,"_ Starscream retorted. _"You claimed Ursa was harmless though, is that correct?"_ a guilty Miko nodded. _"If she had simply pushed you, why not block her next hit instead of hurting her. That was an uncalled for attack against someone virtually harmless. Did you want to be in the fight?"_ he asked.

"_No."_

"_Then you didn't need to continue it. In this case, you should've shielded yourself and blocked her. Instead, by punching her, you only added on to it."_

A glum Miko slumped her shoulders and nodded her head again. _"I'll try to talk to Mrs. Lee tomorrow. Maybe she'll let off the punishment if I apologize for hitting her, and tell her the whole story?"_

"_I think that's exactly what she'll do, Miko."_

"What the scrap are you talking about?" Bulkhead head demanded, cutting Starscream off from his flashback. The two enemies glared daggers at each other.

"Hello? Forgot me _again_, Starscream?" she spat. He turned his gaze on her, but the look only lasted two seconds on her before he turned away, guilt overcoming the anger.

"Miko…" he said quietly. There weren't any words that could define his feelings right now. He wanted to hate this human _so_bad, but it was virtually impossible. No, this femme had taken up stay deep in his spark; where the only way to kick her out would be to rip himself open.

She crossed her arms. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, and he began to study her newer look. The dye in her hair, the colorful fashions she wore, how much skinnier she'd gotten, the glow of her amber eyes dulled.

"What did I do to you…?" he murmured. With that, he held out those long digits that could easily rip her to shreds just mere feet away, palm facing upwards. Miko recognized it immediately – an invitation to go with him. But go where? Japan? The _Nemesis_?

"Don't touch her!" Bulkhead roared. But Starscream had called his bluff, and Bulkhead did not 'bring the roof down' for fear of hurting his human charge, though his arms seemed to be begging him to by now.

Miko ignored her guardian and considered carefully. If she were to be taken to the _Nemesis_, what would life be like there? Megatron would find out, surely, no matter how long Starscream may think he could hide her. Through Starscream and the autobots, she knew Megatron would most likely try to kill her unless his SIC or Miko herself proposed something in exchange. Services to his army?

_Impossible_, Miko though. What could a tiny human do in an army of giant aliens? The idea was absurd. Information on the autobots? That might work. But then again, Miko didn't know every single little thing about them. Her logical side spoke up – all those stories Bulkhead has told her. Every injury they've gotten. Arcee's sensitivity to Cliffjumper's and Tailgate's death. Bumblebee's need for speed. Ratchet was their only medic. And of course, the location to the autobot secret headquarters.

The decepticon's red optics glowed – she saw the heavy guilt, apology, and pleading in them. It was a much more private, nearly invisible side of him that only she and possibly a few others have seen.

Glancing up to Bulkhead she saw his harder blue optics also pleading, but in a different way. He was asking her not to betray him, and the other was asking her to forgive him. Forgiving would be betraying, and not betraying Bulkhead would destroy everything she and Starscream had ever created, every built up. It was a dam waiting to burst, but perhaps this time, it would only crack.

So she stumbled forward a little, never leaving Bulkhead's gaze. And he angrily turned his head away, hurt clear. It was like a slap across the face to him. While starting the mend of one relationship, she'd torn up another.

Miko stepped into Starscream's palm, clutching his thumb as he lightly closed his fingers barely even half way around her. In that same moment, a giant drill burst through with Jack in the driver's seat. She turned away from Bulkhead and stared ahead.

Starscream walked away with her.

And Miko did not look back.

**xXx**

"**Introductions: Part One"** end

"**Introductions: Part Two"** upcoming.

_4-05-2013  
_


	2. Introductions: Part Two

**Her Protector**

"**Introductions: Part Two"**

**By Take0v3r**

**Note:** Hi, OK, so I change the title and summary, and for now the title of the Intro. P1 is incorrect, but no worries, I'll fix it later. Check out my other works, and enjoy this chapter!

**xXx**

**Warnings:** No warnings for this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Transformers belongs to Hasbro/Dreamworks. All OCs are mine.

**xXx**

"Where will you take me?" Miko murmured, rubbing her fingers along his smooth thumb.

"Megatron is here." Starscream responded, not even bothering to answer her question. As if to prove this, there was a deep vibration through the cave floors, enunciated by metallic clangs – footsteps. They were not from Jack's drill, and Bulkhead could not be out of that mess already; it had only been a few minutes at the most; they were too light for Arcee. The steps, however distant they were, grew louder and closer steadily.

The duo tensed.

Miko wondered what their plan of action would be…run from Megatron or confront him? Her opinion was still the same – there was nothing she could to serve the decepticons, and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

Starscream turned around halfway. Heartbeat increasing, Miko began to panic. Was he giving her up to Megatron? Was it all just a lie so they could take her hostage?

"Everything I say you must remain impassive to," Starscream said quickly, voice hushed, "Do as I do, speak when spoken to. You must stand straight, and remain expressionless. Follow my lead, Miko." He almost never called her by her actual name, and when he did, it made her want to glow.

He slid the pad of his index finger down her back. While meant to be reassuring, she shivered.

The steps drew extremely close, and Miko spotted a giant shadow coming from the corner they had just walked out of. Definitely Megs. The very second he stepped around the corner, Starscream dropped to the ground, head bowed obediently. He placed one hand flatly on the ground, the other still holding Miko. Although it didn't hurt, he could feel her gripping his digit tightly.

Miko forced her back perfectly straight, and felt the ache only seconds later. Her eyes focused on the ground, instead of the actual frame of Megatron. Her face twitched at first, but she gained control over that and bit the side of her tongue to remind herself.

The warlord let out a low, almost animalistic growl. She felt the burn of his gaze on her, and her heart beat so frantically it hurt. She took deep, silent breaths to calm herself, chest and shoulders rising and falling evenly.

_Starscream is here. He will protect me. Starscream is here._ She repeated it over and over again like a mantra.

Megatron growled again, still not that loud, and the burning feel of his gaze lightened, which indicated he was not looking at her. However, his very presence was suffocating, filling the room like a stench. This was what made him the decepticon leader.

"Master," Starscream rasped. This was far from the regal, proud seeker she'd seen. This was the groveling, begging SIC the autobots, Megatron, and probably everyone else saw. In a way, she felt honored to be the only one to see it, but she also felt bad. To act like a lesser person, like a slave for a mech who didn't deserve to be treated like royalty, the higher power.

Starscream looked up, false joy in his optics. "You're alive!" he seemed to force it out, but at the same time he sounded enthusiastic by the news.

Megatron stepped closer, intent to slaughter indicated.

"I didn't abandon you, Master! I returned! To _save_ you!"

"'Save me?'" he scoffed, continuing to step closer threateningly, until his peds replaced his shadow, forcing Miko to look at dirt and scuff marks on top of partially scratched off gunmetal grey paint. She tensed. Now was their chance to run. Or, as Starscream didn't dare move, maybe not.

"Look into my spark, Lord Megatron!" Starscream begged. "My intentions were true! Please, I brought one of the autobots' precious humans," he dropped Miko down to ground, fearing for a second (mentally) that she would fall to a heap, but she landed gracefully. Though, from that height, her feet must hurt, and may possibly be bruised.

She looked up, bright amber meeting violent red optics.

"She is the green one's pet – _Bulkhead_," he spat, "He is, well, _was_, her guardian."

"A hostage…" Megatron murmured.

"Er – no; that's not my intention." He added nervously.

"It is _my_ intention!" the warlord snarled back.

"Then you would be a fool!"

Oh _snap_. Shit just got real. Miko remained expressionless, shoving her feelings deep down. What _was _Starscream's big idea?

Megatron was stunned for a total of two seconds, opened his mouth to roar, simultaneously pulling his massive fist back to release a heavy punch, but his second continued on quickly.

"She can make us _grow_, my Lord! We have the ability to expand ourselves, to create new resources through her! Like it or not, Cybertron is a dead planet. We are stuck here as long as the autobots reside on Earth. Slagging deal with it! This human is our connection to their world! They are primitive creatures, easy to be manipulated. That scrapheap of a warship is useless now; with Earth we have resources, supplies that we desperately need. Cybertron is lost to us, but Earth is not! Their demise will begin by their very own hands!" Starscream was venting heavily by the end of it, eyes wide and frantic as he made his argument.

Miko started to count the seconds: one –

Miko's friend was struck so hard the force threw him backwards.

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY!" Megatron roared.

"I-I – " before he could even respond, Starscream was backhanded and kicked hard in the gut. This time, he hit the wall with a sickening crack.

Miko didn't move. She didn't dare utter a single word or sound for fear of getting squashed like a bug, literally. Instead, she chose to glanced towards them every once in awhile, one eyebrow raised, her weight on one foot and the leg opposite to it bent at the knee. Miko looked relaxed, even bored, as she watched the scene.

"Y-Yes, Master! I apologize!" Starscream gasped out, forcing himself to a sitting position. One of his wings had nearly been folded in half, energon oozing at the break, wires snapped. The metal jutted out in deadly looking spikes, the blue fluid dripped to the ground, down his back, and creating a small puddle.

To Miko's knowledge, Seeker wings, doorwings, and Cybertronian wings in general were extremely sensitive to touch. It could cause pleasure or the most agonizing of pains to a bot.

Megatron snarled angrily, turning from his second to the girl. He sneered at her, as if her mere existence was a disgrace to him.

She forced herself to make eye contact with him, and kept her emotions down. As her grandmother used to say – mind over matter. If you don't mind, then it doesn't matter. There was no need for her fears to show now, they are simply mental, emotional, not physical. And physical was the only side Megatron would ever need to see.

He narrowed his optics at her, and she saw the questioning, the hesitation. He was considering her usefulness. Miko fought the urge to look at Starscream and spoke up:

"I came here because I wanted to," she started, keeping her voice level, calm. Respectful but not exactly fearful. "The autobots hate me – they think I'm annoying. But," she didn't hesitate, not really, but she didn't want to sound whiny or lonely. "They've never seen me as useful. They're blind, you know," Miko's voice became lighter, almost dreamy as she spoke. "They don't see what's in front of them."

"Pfft!" Megatron snorted. "Humans think far too highly of themselves." He laughed humorlessly.

"If you don't get it, then you aren't much better than they are," Miko said, amused. She crossed her arms at him and tapped her foot.

"Do not speak to me with such disrespect, foolish fleshling!" he thundered, raising his cannon at her.

"I'm just saying; the autobots have Agent Fowler, the governments' on their side. But the government, apparently, can 'do no wrong' to their people. But the people, like me, smuggle. There's a dark side to this world that they can't see, and they're lucky it hasn't overtaken them all. Because it can."

In away, she'd stolen Megatron's very early ideas, just before the beginnings of the war and after he'd left the gladiatorial arena in exchange for a free, political life, pursing independence and equality for all. There was the government and then there were the people. Nothing went to the latter and everything went to the former. The planet of Earth was constantly at war with itself.

Megatron liked to believe humans were extremely dense, and the only reasonable conclusion was because there were the clever, useful ones that always appeared just in time to fix everything enough so that they'd think everything was back to normal. To humans, they were called heroes. To the warlord, there was only honor.

"Why do you despise the autobots enough to betray them, human?" he asked through grit denta.

"Why shouldn't I?" Miko scoffed, turning away as if insulted. "To them, I'm just an annoying, fleshy brat who always gets in their way. You'll have to deal with inhabitants of Earth at some point, and I . . . can be your liaison, sir, if I'm not overstepping my boundaries?" The word 'liaison' sprang up to her on a whim.

He nodded, once, in acceptance. "We shall see what you are capable of, human."

Miko clutched his index digit, careful to avoid the sharp tip, and turned towards the front, where Starscream was leaning awkwardly on the wall, at an angle so only one half of his body was supported and the other was not touched. He slowly righted himself to his feet, one hand on the wall, pushing himself off of it.

"Come, Starscream," Megatron said, tone lighter, as if he was amused by the seeker's pain. They headed towards a separate direction, and Miko started to laugh out loud. The two decepticons turned, stunned at the random laughter.

"You're going in the wrong direction," she explained at their questioning looks.

"And just what makes you say that, fleshy?" Starscream sneered.

She pointed towards his energon. "See how it's not just creating a puddle? It's slowly going downwards, which means deeper under the cave, or no exit. We need to go that way." Her finger went in the other direction.

Megatron barked a laugh. "Looks like we might find a use for you yet, Starscream. Now let us go back to the ship."

Oh yeah. The _Nemesis_. Miko had forgotten about that. No underground base. A giant warship with hundreds of drones ready to serve and die for the decepticon cause.

And what exactly _was_ Miko going to be doing for them now? So she'd be dealing with humans, fine. She imagined a spy movie, with herself in a skin-tight black suit, a wire transmitting everything she said to the cons, heavily armed and killing people left and right.

Megatron ordered a groundbridge, and Miko felt the minor twisting sensation in her gut as she was transported to her new . . . home, of sorts.

They appeared in front of monitor where Soundwave stood to attention. He turned towards the now trio, and she almost expected him to say something. But all he did was tilt his head at her. Even through his mask, she could almost _feel_ him looking at her, questioning her presence.

"Soundwave," Megatron rumbled. "This is our new…human _liaison_. Starscream," he barked, literally tossing Miko to Starscream, where he barely caught her around the middle. The unexpected weightlessness caused her stomach to roll and the world to spin; jerking and giving her whiplash the moment she was caught.

"The fleshling is to live in your quarters for now. She is your responsibility. Although," the decepticon leader placed his heavy gaze on her, "Know this, fleshling: if you were to offline . . . you would not be missed."

Miko nodded curtly.

_Starscream is here. He will protect me._ Over and over again, she repeated it to herself silently.

The SIC held her a tad tighter than necessary, but Miko surmised it as a show to the others. Not quite a prisoner or hostage, but certainly not a threat either. She put it on a wide-eyed, awe-struck face for show. And in a way, it did show her feelings.

The _Nemesis_ had an eerie, dark glow, with lights tinted purple, blue, and blinding white. It highlighted the walls and decals all along the sides. Glowing purple seemed to ooze through the walls, although Miko knew there was nothing there. It also matched, surprisingly, the eradicons with their paint scheme. The ceilings, to a Cybertronian, were just a little under the low side, and the walls were slightly rounded.

The eradicons, when passed, saluted and were acknowledged. They went down a series of hallways, twisting and turning.

When they'd reached their destination, Starscream keyed in the passcode and slipped inside.

"This is your place?" Miko asked, genuinely awestruck. It was big, with rounded walls and a ceiling that tapered to a point, glowing purple lines decals accenting the room. A berth was pushed into the corner, a thin, spindly looking nightstand placed to the side of it. A desk sat off to the other side of the room, facing the door, almost completely buried in data pads. Shelves imbedded into the walls were practically filled with them. On the other side of the room was a cushy looking chair, not that far off from the nightstand. Then there was another door, which she figured were the wash racks.

Starscream's lipplates twitch upwards lightly, amused. "I expect it's bigger to you than it is for me," he said, placing her on his nightstand, where she carefully stepped out of his palm, focusing on not tripping.

Starscream knelt to the ground, and it was with a start Miko realized his wing was still seriously injured, although the energon flow had lessened considerably. There was a slight buzz, and he placed a sort of building beside her.

"What's that?" she asked, narrowing her eyebrows.

He pressed a small button, and the 'building' of sorts split open from the middle.

"Holy – is that a freaking _dollhouse_?" she asked incredulously.

"No! It's a storage unit for sparklings' figurines." He corrected quickly, shifting. His working wing fluttered. Miko recognized it as embarrassment, so she didn't press too much into it.

"Well . . . why do you have it?"

"It belonged to me when I was a sparkling. They were given to younglings as toys and gifts. When my quarters were destroyed along with the rest of Vos, I had managed to salvage this from the wreckage among a few other things."

The dollhouse was exactly half blue and half red. The former colored side had a very large window taking up almost a third of the wall that led to the 'outside'. There was not quite a bench, but a block shaped thing right under the window with soft padding – the berth. Underneath were two big drawers, and he used the tips of his digits to open them, revealing two larger blankets made of something extremely soft, and a type of pillow that was a little harder than the one she as used to, he handed it to her. Even though the dollhouse was made for tiny younglings, it was still much bigger than what Miko needed.

The other side of the dollhouse (red) had a 'door' that took up half the wall, two windows, and a desk and chair set. It would've been pretty cute if she had been Starscream's size, but it was still far too big for her needs.

"Tomorrow," Starscream announced. "I will have Knock Out take you to get an apartment solely for bodily purposes, where you shall spend most of your time there."

Miko nodded, smoothing the padding and laying out the blankets and pillow. "Can you get your wing checked out too Starscream? It looks bad." She commented.

He nodded curtly. "Don't worry about it. Megatron has given me far worse than a split wing."

He moved towards his desk, shifting some data pads around as Miko stripped off her outer clothes, leaving her in boy shorts and a T-shirt.

"Good night, Starscream." She smiled at him, sliding under her covers.

"Good night, Miko."

**xXx**

"**Introductions: Part Two" **end

"**Introductions: Part Three"** upcoming.

_4-26-2013_


	3. Introductions: Part Three

**Her Protector**

"**Introductions: Part Three**"

**By xHiddenM**

**Note:** Hey guys! Back for another chapter. Had a blast writing this one, but I don't like how all of these parts turned out. Please, please leave a review! Also, I'm looking for a beta, so if anyone could recommend someone to me, that'd be fantastic. Thanks guys! Please review!

**xXx**

**Warnings: **Mild underwear talk, nothing graphic.

**Disclaimer:** Transformers belongs to Hasbro/Dreamworks. All OCs are mine.

**xXx**

"Wake up. _Wake up_!"

Starscream shook Miko with one finger through the window (there hadn't been any glass or plastic) and knocked her out of her makeshift bed.

"Ugh! What gives, dude?" she snapped, jerking the covers over her head again. It was, however, in vain, as Starscream yanked them back roughly, though he was considerate – more like careful, he was never 'considerate' as far as anybody knew – and nudged her again. It might've been a nudge to him, but to her if might as well have been a kick to the back.

Miko curled up on herself, rubbing her eyes and scratching her head. Glaring, she stood and sat back on the bed, giving in and stretching.

"Hurry up and get ready," he said casually, as if he hadn't manhandled her. "I'll be in the wash racks for a few minutes. Prepare yourself for the day as needed. We will be going to get some supplies with Knock Out soon." Turning on his heel, Starscream headed towards his personal wash racks.

She lay back down on the bed, but she wasn't too tired anymore. No, not as she thought of yesterday. It came back to her like whiplash. This wasn't her house. This was the _Nemesis_, the decepticon headquarters. The moment she'd stepped into Starscream's hand, Miko had become an enemy of the autobots.

Her hand rubbed her 'bed' absentmindedly. It was far too thin to be comfortable, the blankets too light in the cold of the warship for her. Starscream had told her to get ready, but there wasn't much she could do. As far as Miko knew, there were no human facilities there. She hadn't brought any food, money, toiletries, or clothes.

It was a good thing she normally wore a couple of layers of clothes, then. Opting to skip the leggings, she slipped on her shorts and her usual navy blue tank top (the one with the little green alien), lacing her boots up and debating whether or not she should stick on the belt too. She did eventually, but unclipped the little stuffed animals on it, placing them to the side of her bed. Her shirt and leggings went under the bed, not even bothering with folding them.

Hair.

Shit.

They were still up in her usual 'do, but it was messy now, so she ripped out the bands and bent over at the waist, flipping her hair and using her fingers to comb through it. Flipping it back, she took one band and pulled it into a half ponytail, brushing her bangs with her fingers so they looked the same as they normally did, but now they were a little framed by her wavy hair.

She smiled to herself and sat on the bed, staring at her little doll house from the inside. In a way, it felt like Miko was intruding in Starscream's childhood; as if this were a top secret box will all of his personal memories. More specifically, the good ones.

"You better be ready, Miko," the very mech came out of his racks shiny and clean, interrupting her train of though. He leaned over at the waist to peer through the window, studying her choice of clothing with mild interest.

"Yeah," She said, shifting away from his watchful optics and pushing the little door open. "Where to?" stepping into his waiting palm like it was natural. There was no hesitation or stumbling.

"We are heading to the medbay to meet with our CMO, Knockout." Starscream answered evenly. "You may or may not know him." he added the last bit slyly, a little sarcastically, even.

Miko winced at the name and continued with another question. "Why do we need to see him? I thought your wing was fixed." It did indeed look fixed, with no sign of any previous damage.

"He will be chaperoning you to New York City, New York, where the _Nemesis_ currently resides over."

"B-but where will you be?" Starscream noted her expression; it looked stricken, panicked. He chuckled as they walked through the semi-empty halls of the warship.

"I shall be following you from the skies. You see," they both ignored the strange looks a group of Vehicons was giving them. "His alternate form is much more common. Do you know of Knockout's racing habit?"

Miko nodded.

"Well, those who win in those 'competitions'," he sneered, "Are paid thousands of dollars a time. And added to that are bets placed on the drivers. Just last night he won over seventy thousand dollars, and I asked him to collect the given money instead of simply getting rid of it as he prefers to do. After all, human currency has no purpose for us."

"_Seventy thousand dollars_?" she gaped. "In just _one_ race?"

"No, of course not. I believe he did several; that is the sum. Knockout will be funding us."

They entered the medbay that moment, preventing any further comments she'd had. There he was, polished and red, smooth, and holding himself with arrogance.

"Why, hello there," Knockout purred towards them, setting a sharp tool he'd been holding down on the table.

"You must be our newest . . . _resident_. Welcome to the _Nemesis_." He strode across the room smoothly, smirking as Miko frowned and narrowed her eyes. "To New York City, then? I heard it's a lovely place. Most likely the equivalent to one of our bigger, shiner cities. Perhaps Iacon, or maybe Tyger Pax."

Miko hated him already.

"Let's go!" he clapped his hands eagerly.

**xXx**

Only minutes later, they'd reached New York City. Miko was riding within Knockout's alt mode, listening to him as he complained about her dirty boots, her nasty human self and the dirt and oils residing on her body.

It had been eventful, the past hour.

The very first thing they did was bring her to a penthouse. The lobby was bright, with several chandeliers and marble floors. A nice middle-aged blond sat at the front desk in a preppy blue and yellow business suit, her blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and bangs combed perfectly over her forehead.

The second thing she discovered were their holoforms. Starscream, having nowhere to land without causing suspicion – more like panic, really, how often do you find a jet in the parking lot of a mall? – hovered in the air above them, miles out. Knockout was the one to park.

He jerked to a halt, tires screeching. Several humans turned to look and stare at the source of noise, and then in awe of his shiny, expensive, alt mode. He stepped out, and suddenly Starscream was getting out of the back seat with him, both in holoforms.

Their holoforms were almost exact replicas of humans, though there was something slightly off about them that Miko couldn't place. Perhaps it was their posture, which was abnormally straight and both of them refused to slouch no matter how much she complained and instead turned the subject around to correcting hers.

Starscream had tousled blond hair and smoky grey eyes, a tall, lean frame, and dressed somewhat causally. Knockout was similar to his height and build, but looked much more different than the former. Running his hand through his dark brown hair, the only true human in their company noticed his burgundy eyes as they caught the light.

Both 'men' wore button up shirts – Knockout's a deep red and Starscream's a baby blue – and were in the process of popping open the first couple of buttons and rolling their sleeves up. It was funny, though, Miko remarked silently, how their pants seemed to change both of their styles completely around. The grounder wore dark skinny jeans and black Converse while the other wore black slacks.

The glove compartment popped open as Miko stepped out, and she curiously reached in to pull out a leather messenger bag, which Knockout snatched away from her and slipped over his shoulder. Later, she learned that it contained his money in cash.

"Don't touch the money." He said casually, winking at a few ladies that caught his eye. They giggled and squealed, making Miko roll her eyes at their stupidity. Seriously, they just eye fucked an evil alien.

As they entered the mall, the scent of cinnamon buns, barbeque, and coffee assaulted their noses. Knockout assessed Miko's attired and wrinkled his nose, lips pulling downwards in a frown.

"You and I are going to have a _play date_."

The first store they hit was _Aeropostale_, a teen store that had loud, pumping music and clothes crammed into practically every space available.

He kept Miko's in a tight grip to his left and snatched up T-shirts, jeans, skirts, and jackets. Eventually, he just passed them to Starscream when he couldn't carry anymore, much to the seeker's annoyance. And then, he forced her to go into a fitting room (alone, thankfully), setting out what shirt went with what, and tossing back a pair of jeans back to Starscream and ordering him to get a different size. This went on for almost two hours before they paid.

Next up, _Guess_.

Most of the clothes they got here were much more expensive and fancier, but to Knockout that just made it even better. He was picky, snapping at the other to do this and get that. And then they came to a _Forever 21_, and spent more time there than anywhere else with jewelry.

To Miko, the most embarrassing place was _Victoria's Secret_, where she'd been given more underwear and things that made her blush furiously. She and Knockout had more arguments in that store than any other, much to Starscream's amusement. Miko was trying to explain why it was inappropriate to come out in the lingerie/'underwear' in public just to demonstrate to him, and then had to further explain why he couldn't come into the fitting room with her to watch her try it on.

"Heh," an old man to his left chuckled, placing most of his body weight on his cane. "You never know how to react in a store like this,"

Starscream sat on a bench glumly, placing his bags at his feet and keeping careful watch over them like his life depended on it as Knockout waited anxiously for Miko to come out to his left. She did pop her head out, opening the door a crack and revealing her back and shoulders, but not her front.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes?" Betty, a middle-aged, slightly overweight lady chewing gum rather loudly.

"Can I get this in a bigger cup size?" Miko mumbled, blushing. Betty nodded and smiled at her embarrassment. The younger girl turned ever redder when she caught Starscream's curious gaze.

Betty returned in no time with a much bigger purple and pink lacy bra. He watched as her long, thin, pale fingers reached out and took it, and then as the door shut. He amused himself by watching her feet below the door. Her ankles looked extremely fragile, weak, and far too white. They were much tinier than what you would assume from her usual boots.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he watched her wiggle and stand on her toes, twisting and turning. He assumed she was modeling and studying her reflection. Suddenly he caught a flash of purple, and her right foot left the ground, and then it reappeared with the fabric around her ankle, and then she tried to do it with her other foot, but stumbled, and Starscream watched as she stumbled and hit the wall with a thump.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Betty asked, mildly concerned as she hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Yup! Sorry, I tripped," Miko called back. Betty rolled her eyes and chewed her gum.

Knockout let out an annoyed sigh and leaned against the wall, absentmindedly pushing away a bra on a hanger away from his head.

"OK!" Miko stepped out, fully clothed, "I'm starving!" she announced.

"But we have so many more places to go!" Knockout whined.

Starscream, sensing another argument coming around, agreed with Miko that she hadn't fueled at all yet, said they'd quickly get something to eat, and then they'd continue on for a little while longer.

After a nice Big Mac from McDonald's, they visited a shoe store, where they watched her stumble around on three-inch heels, wedges, and boots, and wincing at the overly tight flats. In the end, they bought a pair of Vans, Converse, two pairs of boots, a pair of Nikes, several flip-flops, and sandals.

Then, they'd entered the more 'essential areas', like the Apple store and a Barnes and Nobles. They'd bought an iPhone 5, an iPad, and a Macbook Air. In the middle of the store, Knockout stole her phone from her back pocket and crushed it under the heel of his Converse. Starscream smacked him upside the head, apologized to the employees – several of them looked shocked – and left the store in a hurry.

"Jerk! That had all of my contacts, my pictures, everything was on that thing!" she moaned. Pictures of Team Prime, her home in Tokyo, Japan, her memories.

"Please," Knockout snorted, turning his nose up. "You're overreacting."

She growled under her breath, but a warning look from Starscream shut her up. "Whatever,"

Checking the time on his chronometer, he realized it was past nine o'clock. "We'll need to head back the _Nemesis_ soon; and we have yet to drop off our. . . recent purchases."

"You mean we aren't taking everything back?" Miko asked.

"No. It is illogical to do so. Instead, we shall take only few things in that new backpack of yours," he nodded to one of the many bags in his hands. "Our chosen residence is merely a storage unit for when we are not on the _Nemesis_."

They drove to a large building, Miko falling asleep in the backseat. Knockout chose to woke her up by blaring music as loudly as possible, making her jump and shriek at him for a good five minutes.

They were at hotel, she realized, and her room was on the top floor. Knockout handed her a keycard to her room. With a click, they walked into the suite.

To her right was a large bathroom. To her left were a loveseat and recliner set, and a TV resting on top of a set of drawers. Beside that were a desk, lamp, leather swivel chair, and two bookshelves built into the wall. The floor were carpeted a soft blue color, and a king sized bed sat beside a large window, navy blue curtains pulled back to reveal the lowing city below. The bed was a nice, pretty shade of ocean blues and greens, match the floor and curtains and blending comfortably with the creamy walls.

"Go take a shower," Knockout urged. "Humans can be so nasty sometimes with all the oils and dirt they collect."

Sticking her tongue out, Miko grabbed a bag from a store and a _Victoria's_ _Secret_ bag, checking the contents and nodding, satisfied. "I'll be out in about half an hour." She said.

It was actually more like forty-five minutes, but that was alright. Starscream, in that time, set up her electronics for her while Knockout tossed the bags by the drawers and the shoe boxes next to the bathroom door, turned on the TV, and laid back on the couch, watching a soap opera.

Miko soon came out, smelling like vanilla and lavender, in a T-shirt and jeans.

"So what're we gonna do tomorrow?" she asked conversationally as she took out her backpack to take to the _Nemesis_.

"Tomorrow," Starscream responded as Knockout laughed loudly at something on TV, "We will begin your training and set up human alliances,"

Miko stuffed a pair of pajamas into her bag, two T-shirts, a pair of jeans, shorts, flip-flops, and socks in before responding. "Alliances with who, exactly?"

"The underground, of course. We need allies, others who want to take down the government. During your shower – " he paused as she noisily shifted through a shopping bag, "I have set up a website. Impossible to hack by humans, but public. Our alliances will begin with conspiracy theorists, those who disagree with their government, etc. We advertise, attract attention. Knockout will continue racing and in turn, funding us."

"Sounds smart." She said offhandedly, not really caring, not yet. "OK, I've got my stuff." She announced.

"Finally!" Knockout said, sitting up. "I'll see you outside." He vanished, and Starscream nodded his goodbye as he joined him.

Miko yawned, and left the hotel room, turning out the lights.

Back to the _Nemesis_.

**xXx**

"**Introductions: Part Three**" end

"**Introductions: Part Four**" upcoming.

_5-12-2013_

Please review!


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